Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

They’re billing it as the “most significant product launch in Microsoft’s history,” so why not let them have their fun? Microsoft busted out Windows Vista Business today, along with Office Professional 2007, and a slew of other business, server and enterprise-related products. The day’s festivities took place at NASDAQ, where Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer and Christopher Liddell rang the opening bell this morning, followed by a day of hyping up the offerings to prospective volume-licensees. Microsoft expects over 200 million people will be using at least one of the products offered today by the end of 2007, and no matter what your stance on Microsoft and Windows, it’s hard to argue with the impact of these softwares. So yeah, we could dwell on the considerable delays Microsoft experienced leading up to this release, or conjecture how long it’ll take for 0-day vulnerabilities to emerge in this shiny new OS, but instead we’d just like to wish Steve Ballmer and co. the best of luck with Vista, Office and all the trimmings. There, now that we’ve gotten that out of our system, let the bug-finding begin!

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Household

It may sound like something out of a David Cronenberg movie, but the digestive table designed by Amy Young is in actuality only slightly less disturbing — and, best of all, you can build one of your own if you’ve got the carpentry skills to match the plans. If you do, you’ll soon be turning your leftovers into nutritious, sweet-smelling compost with the help of some hard-working worms and sowbugs that’ll chew ‘em up and spit out the results on the plants below. So as you don’t miss a moment of that action, the table also comes equipped with a 10-inch LCD connected to an infrared camera set atop the compost heap, capturing the circle of life in all its stomach-turning glory.

Via Inhabitat]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

You know, most of us here at Engadget couldn’t help but get a bit misty eyed when we saw that new Wii Classic Controller and recalled our fond memories of many a’ night spent with the SNES’ Ol’ Roundy. Of course, there’s always that original rectangular classic NES controller that we saved the Princess with in “Super Mario Bros.”, which will always have a fond place in our hearts. Whichever you prefer (or perhaps both), RetroUSB has just released SNES and NES controller adapters for the Nintendo Wii, letting your relive your mid-1980s and early 1990s memories of button-pushing in the 21st century; when you download the original Super Mario Bros. or the very first StarFox via Nintendo’s Virtual Console service, you can now play them as they were meant to be played. These controller adapters will make the perfect addition for our F-Zero party this weekend — Captain Falcon FTW!

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Those looking to wake up to their iPod’s tunes should consider the Memorex iWake, an affordable clock-radio option with sleeker styling than its competitors. Sound quality could be better, though.

Those looking to wake up to their iPod’s tunes should consider the Memorex iWake, an affordable clock-radio option with sleeker styling than its competitors. Sound quality could be better, though.

Filed under: Desktops

Looks like AMD has a sweet new rig they’re readying for January launch, and word on the street is Bill Gates wants to launch it personally. It’s the IQ770 “Crossfire,” the first mass market touchscreen desktop PC we’ve seen, surely good for taking advantage of Vista’s integrated tablet functionality. The Vista Premium system, set to launch alongside Windows on January 30th, features a massive load of options including: 19-inch touchscreen, AMD Turion 64 X2 dual core TL-52 processor, 2GB SDRAM, 320GB drive, NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600, WiFi, Bluetooth, integrated 1.3 megapixel camera, integrated FM and ATSC HDTV tuners, a DVD±RW / DVD-RAM burner with LightScribe, Pocket Media Drive bay, wireless keyboard, mouse, stylus, front media reader, and a crazy amount of ports (Ethernet, two FireWire, six USB 2.0, one with HP printer power Y-cable connector, 5.1 + digital audio out, IR out, mini-VGA, and inputs: FM coax, TV coax, ATSC, and two S-Video). It also features some new widget-like dashboard interface, featuring HP new SmartCalendar, which serves as a central point for virtual fridge notes and shared family calendars; as well as Photosmart Touch, a new image editing and printing interface. Expect to pony up $1799 - $1899 for this iMac killer in a couple months. Tons more photos after the break!

Continue reading HP IQ770 “Crossfire” 19-inch touchscreen Media PC revealed!

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Household

Has Panasonic become the upscale SolidAlliance of Japanese electronics? Wait, hear us out. First they dropped the EY3002 computerized mattress onto our sallow souls, now this, the exer-bronco. Although classified as fitness, not fetish gear, the mechanicals do list stirrups and handles as optional equipment. And get this, you can even kit the rig out with an oxygen tank just in case you get a little breathless from “working out.” Er, isn’t that the point? Prices for that hot, buckin’ action exceed ¥300,000 (more than $2500) which might be worth if only for a bit of Wii integration. Help us Bud and Sissy, you’re their only hope.

[Thanks, ScooerJP]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

The Jitterbug Dial is the perfect phone for the elderly or those with poor eyesight.

If you’re into its retro sci-fi looks, the FM-enabled Rain Design iWoofer speaker system makes a useful desktop companion for your iPod.

Filed under: Desktops

So we know AMD was launching the Quad FX platform this week (that officially happened in America today), but we were a little hard up for info on what that actually entailed. Well, here’s what’s what: the obviously enthusiast platform aims to please by eschewing AMD’s own lower performing (yet wholly owned) ATI products for NVIDIA and its nForce 680a-based chipsets (yes, we know), and will feature quad and octo-core support (yep). They’re touting twelve SATA connections for up to 9TB of storage, 20 USB 2.0 channels, four gig Ethernet ports, four or eight monitors powered by up to four PCI-E cards, and Dual Socket Direct Connect (DSDC) Architecture designed for optimized performance (or so they tell us). What wasn’t clear, however, is that US pricing on the FX-70 series chips are for bundles; helping put one of those fours in 4×4, AMD’s FX-70 (2.6GHz), FX-72 (2.8GHz), and FX-74 (3.0GHz) processors — which use the same Socket F previous Opterons have — will be sold in pairs for $600, $800, and $1000, respectively, literally doubling the value. Affordable is, of course, par for AMD — except for one thing. Although we haven’t tested these new chips ourselves, PC Perspective is reporting that an Impress study showed these new FX-series processors to be monstrously less efficient in cycles per watt of power consumption than Intel’s. One graph (shown after the break) has an FX-74 gobbling what looks like near double the juice of a Core 2 Extreme QX6700 chip for comparable (or lesser) performance values. Whether that will hold you back from (re-)investing in AMD’s new platform is up to you, but we know you’re not the type to buy blind anyway.

Read - AMD Quad FX release
Read - Impress tests [Via PC Perspective]

Continue reading AMD’s Quad FX platform: some details and doubts

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment

While the Claro TV fights off the dimness so often associated with watching front-projection in broad daylight, and Planar’s Xscreen claims to work without the gargantuous pricetag, now there’s yet another firm in the mix of miracle-working screens. Germany’s DNP has unveiled the Supernova Flex Screen, which claims to deliver “ten times” the contrast and “double” the brightness compared to standard screens when used in daylight. Available in both fixed and retractable versions, and in widescreen sizes up to 120-inches (100-inches for 4:3 versions), the Supernova is reportedly compatible with all LCD, DLP, and LCoS projectors. It also sports an “ultrafine” .0065-millimeter pitch along with a “high-contrast filter” that allows the projected image to be reflected by the screen while it absorbs incidental light from other sources. While we’ve no idea how much DNP plans to charge for this daylight-friendly device (nor if it actually works as claimed), we shouldn’t have to wait around too much longer to find out.

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Home automation is one area where the end result is definitely a lot more exciting than the stuff that gets you there (except to those that actually make the stuff, of course). Case in point, the Pulse Controller, the result of a partnership between startup Aspalis SAS with Navicom. While a select few will no doubt be interested to know that it supports both the KNX / EIB and Z-Wave protocols (with addition protocol support planned — ZigBee, perhaps?) and packs more processing power than most desktop computers did way back when, most will probably simply be satisfied when they can tuck the little box away and control their lights, window blinds, and other network-connected devices from a touchscreen, handheld, or personal computer. In addition to going after the residential market, Aspalis is also hoping the hospitality industry will come on board, though there’s no indication when it’ll be available or how much it’ll cost.

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Household

Just when we thought we’d seen it all, ROLLERtoaster comes onto the scene and makes everybody look bad. Sure, it’s just a concept for now, but don’t say we didn’t warn you when this thing takes the world by storm and revolutionizes the entire toast industry forever. Designed by Jaren Goh of Singapore, and winner of the 2006 Red Dot Award, the ROLLERtoaster is pretty self explanatory: stick bread in one side, and watched it get rolled into toast by the compact little unit. We’re not so sure how well this is guarded from little probing fingers, or the exact mechanism for rolling the toast through, but do details like that really matter when faced with such exquisite design beauty? We didn’t think so.

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

A decent camera, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX50 is held back by less-than-decent photo quality.

A decent camera, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX50 is held back by less-than-decent photo quality.

The Kensington SX 3000R speakers would make a decent addition to any iPod owner’s kitchen or bedroom, but the frustrating radio integration makes it a poor choice for FM-seekers.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Video

It wouldn’t be a mobile media product if it didn’t start with a lower-case i (but then again if it’s got wired Ethernet, it’s not incredibly mobile anyway). Still, it looks like Axion’s iPTV Anywhere Box and Wireless Monitor seeks to emulate the Sony LocationFree TV model streaming TV to your 7-inch wireless (or wired) Monitor, which also happens to have a USB port and SD, just in case. Yeah, more info as it’s available.

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

This Core 2 Duo version of the Lenovo 3000 N100 combines decent performance with the features and connections a small-business user will need, all at a competitive price.

The Sprint Motorola Razr V3m offers a few differences from the Verizon Wireless Razr V3m but overall, it’s roughly the same as its competitor.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio

Just in case you didn’t get your fill of tall-ass monolithic 2001-lookin’ portable audio device docks, Philips has a new cop on the beat: the not-yet-announced Docking Enterainment System DCM270. Besides playing CDs and docking your GoGear (or wait — is that a YP-K3?), it’ll even play nice with your iPod, something Apple’s decidedly punier Hi-Fi can’t attest to. More on it soon.

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: GPS

We were wondering when someone was going to combine the infinite utility of a GPS receiver with the limited but potentially powerful data conveyed by Microsoft’s MSN Direct (i.e. SPOT network). Look for the forthcoming Garmin Nuvi 670 / 680 (apparent followups to the 660 and 610) to have sport feature among others — you’ll know more when we do.

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!